Column for distillation and the like.



WALTER E. LUMMUS, OF LYNN. MASSACHUSETTS.

COLUMN FOB DISTILLATION AND THE LIKE.

Application filed August 19, 1911.

lie it known that l. \VALTEI: ll. IAFMMUH, a citizen of the l nited States. residing at Lynn. in the county of Essex and State of Massachusetts. have invented certain new and useful improvements in (olumns for Distillation and the like: and l do hereby declare the following to be. a full. clear. and exact description of the invention. such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

The present.- invention relates to columns or towers used for distillation. for gas washing, for absorbing gases in liquid and tor like processes.

The concentration of alcohol and other volatile liquids from dilute solutions or liquid mixtures is usually conductedin stills provided with distilling or re -t1t ving columns in which the vapor is caused to undergo a series of distillations and from which onlv the. more volatile liquids survive as vapor to be liquefied in the condenstn' and from which the less volatile liquids are drained oti' at the bottom.

In such distilling columns a stream of vapor is caused to ascend through the col man and is brought into intimate contact with and is washed l a descending stream of liquid. in which washing operation the less volatile part of the vapor is liquefied and the. more volatile part of the liquid is vaporiked. As a. result of these multiple washings. or distillations. the vapor \\'l11Cll is collected at the top of a column is composed of the more volatile constituents, in

' nearlv a pure state. of the mixture. which was led into the toweizlainl the less volatile part of the mixture is drained in liquid form from the bottom of the column.

In the treatment of gases to remove some of the impurities. washing columns or tow:- ers are employed through which the gas is caused to ascend and is washed by a stream of liquid flowing: downwardly through the column. The liquid washes out the impurities and the purified gas is collected at the top of the column In making liquid solutions of gases. Slmllar columns or towers are often employed. The liquid in which the gas is to he absorlied is admitted to the top of the column. flows Specification of Letters Patent.

' Patented May 22. 1917.

Serial No. 644.927.

downwardly in intimate contact with the stream. the gas ascending through the col unm. and is collected at the bottom as a liquid solution of the gas.

The. columns or towers for the above mentioned purposes have been constructed in a variety of ways. but the usual construction and the. one with which the present invention is particularly concerned is to forum-the column of a number of communicating chambers placed in series. one above the other. To cope. in the most etiicient manner with the different conditions under which such columns are employed, the number of chambers. and particularly in distilling columns. the type of the several chambers must be varied to meet each individual case.

One object of the. present invention is to improve the construction of such columns 01 towers by making interchangeable units or sections and combining the units or sections into a complete column or tower. The individual units are so constructed that any unit may be titted to any other unit. so that each unit can be constructed entirely separate from and independently of the other units. and then a desired number of units of one or more of the different types of units may. be selected and combined to form a column having the units arranged in any con-ibination most advantageous for the particular conditions at hand. In some columns. like gas washing columns. which are composed of a series of similar washing chambers. one of the advantages obtained by the present invention lies in the ability to select and combine the exact number of units or sections needed. while in other columns. like in distilling columns. which are composed of a series of units or chambers of difl'erent types for performing dissimilar functions. a. corresponding advantage lies not only in the'ability to select the proper number of any type oi units. but also in the bility to combine as adjacent units the units of difi erent types. so that the column can be assembled of the exact number of chambers desired. with these chambers placedin any arrangement.-

Another'object of the present invention manut'actured. easily assembled and efiiciently perform their several functions in the column or tower.

'ith the above objects in view. the present invention consists in the interchangeable unit distilling column and in the details of construction of the units thereof, hereinafter described and mrticularly pointed out in the claims.

The invention is illustrated in connection with a distilling cohunn or tower. but it is to be understood that the present invention may be embodied incohunns or towers used in processes other than distillation. Therefore, the term distilling cohunn or tower as used in the specification and claims is intemled to define a column or tower in which gas or vapor is treated in connection with the liquid in a manner similar to such treatment. as occurs in any of the chambers of a distilling column.

In the drawings which illustrate the. preferred embodiment of the present invention as applied to a distilling column or tower;

Figure l is a vertical sectional view of a distilling column embodying a number of units constructed according to the present invention:

Fig. 2 is a top plan view of an internal condensing section;

Fig. 3 is a vertical sectional view of an internal condensing section taken on the line of Fi 2;

Fig. 4 is a vertical sectional view of an internal condensing section taken on the line t1--6 of Fig. 2;

Fig. is a top plan view of a vapor hood section;

Fig. 6 is a vertical sectional view of a vapor hood section taken on the line. 88 of Fig. 5;

Fig. T is an elevation, taken partly in cross section of a loose deck section.

Reterring to the drawings. the distilling column is formed of two separate parts or columns 1 and 2 placed one on top of the other. The mixture to be distilled is admitted into one of the middle sections of the upper part 2 by a trapped inlet pipe 2-3. The vapor from the part :2 is conducted through the pipe 1 to a condenser indicated at 3 and the unevaporated liquid is conducted from the bottom chamber of the part 2 through a trapped pipe (5 to one of the. middle chambers of the lower part 1 of the column. This liquid is again put through a distilling process in the lower part 1. the vapor pas ing from the top chambcr through the pipe 7 to a condenser indicated at'S and the unevaporated or vaste liquid passing out through a drain pipe 9 from the bottom chamber. The above arrangement ofpipe connections is indicated merely to show a usual or possible construction for such column and forms no part of the present invention. The arrangement of the units in the eolunm. although showing an operative distilling or rectifying column. is made primarily tor the purpose of illustrating the various types of units rather than to illustrate an arrangement of units foany special conditions of distillation.

The distilling column as illustrated in l ig. I is built up of a pedestal 10. an injector steam heating section 11 four vapor hood sections 12. two internal condensing sections 13. each of said internal condensing sections being covered with a loose vapor hood deck l-t. and a \aporoutlet section 15. These units or sections make up the lowermost column or part 1. The upper column or part .2 consists of a tubular steam heating section 16, three vapor hood sections 17. a reducing section 18 which bears vapor hoods, two vapor hood sections 19. two internal condensing sections :20, each covered with a loose vapor hood deck 21. and a dome section 2; In the preferred form of the invention the units or sections of the columns are formed of castings of rectangular horizontal cross section. The castings are cheaply made and are particularly adapted for machine work in preparing them for assembly into the column. While the castings for the ditferenttops of sections are, of course. different in shape. yet all the sections have. in connnon. certain features which relate particularly to the manner of assembling the sections into the column. Each section has outwardly turned flanges the surfaces of which are accurately machined to fit similar flanges 0n the adjacent sections. Each section has nibs for retaining gaskets placed between it and the adjacent sections. Each section. except the loose deck sections, is provided with lugs for use in connecting the sections by means of bolts. These common features will he hereinafter more fully and specifically described. The rectangular shape of the sections possesses certain advantages which will be. pointed out under the description of the various sections. The various sections or units will now be described in detail.

Pedestal. The pedestal ltlis a hollow casting of rectangular pyramidal form. The pedestal has a flush deck or top 30 having a central boss 31 which is bored for the reception of the overflow drain pipe. 9. The top of the pedestal has outwardly extending flanges 32. gasketretaining nibs 2-13 formed on two'of the opposing sides. and bolt. holding lugs 2-, The flanges 32. nibs 33, and lugs 34 cooperate. with similar flanges. nibs and lugs on the next section above. These flanges. nibs and lugs on the pedestal section are exactly the same in form and function as those on the top of the vapor hood section hereinafter described.

nishes the heat requisite for the multiple distilling or rectifying operations in the cham- I steam.

bers above. The excess or unevaporated liquid overflows and is led away by the drain pipe 9. The injector steam heating section 11 is formed of a hollow casting having continuous side walls and open top and bottom.

The top and bottom edges of the side walls are provided with outwardly extending flanges 45. gasket retaining nibs ll) and bolt holding lugs -17 which cooperate with similar flanges. nibs and lugs on the pedestal section 10 below and the vapor hood section 12 above to hold the sections assembled. These flanges, nibs and lugs are exactly the same as those on the vapor hood sections hereinafter described. The side walls of the section 11 together with the deck 30 of the pedestal section 10 form a liqiiid holding tank. the level of the liquid being fixedby the constant level q verflow pipe 9. Since the joint be tween the pedestal section 10 and the heating section 11 is formed beneath the surface of the liquid contained in the heating section. a liquid seal is formed for such joint. This liquid sealed joint isless apt to leak than a joint which is exp sed t0 the vapor, and in case of leak. the appearance at the liquid on the outside of the tower indicates the exact position of packed with a gasket of suitable packing material. The liquid in the tank-like chamber of this section is boiled by means Of llVt. The steam is injected into the liquid" through downwardly opening perforations 48 in a steam coil 49 which is supported within the section '11 and supplied with "steam through a steam supply pipe 50 extending through one of the side walls of the section.

Vapor 710ml sections.

Above the heating sectiolrll are placed four vapor hood sections 12. The unevaporatcd liquid from the upper part or column 2 is discharged on the top of the uppermost of these four sections and trickles down through the overflow pipes into the heating section 11 where the least volatile part. or excess liquid. is drained oil by the drain pipe 9 and the more volatile part is vaporized and rises through the vapor hoods of the lowermost vapor hood section. where it bubbles up through the stream of liquid the leak.. This joint course.

which is flowing across the vapor hood 'sec tion on its way to the bottom of the column.

The hot vapor is in part condensed by the" liquid. heat of condensation vaporizing the more volatile constituents of the liquid which with the uncondcused vapor pass into the vapor hoods of the next higher vapor hood section. where. partial condensation of the vapor and twaporation of the more volatile constituents of the downwardly flowing liquid again take place. This process of tile constituents are discharged as liquidthrough the drain pipe 5). lt is obvious that the degree of concentration and the amount of product condensed will for any pa rtieular mixture be determined by the rate of distillation and the selection of the proper number and type of the various sections. and

hence the advantage of building a column by assembling interchangeal'ile units which may be selected andassembled in a sulliclcnt number to meet the conditionsimposed in obtaining a certain distillate from a given mixture.

These vapor horal scctions 12 are all alike and are illustrated more in detail in Figs. 3 and (ii Each section is formed of a casting having a general form of an inverted cap, the top deck (i0 being cast integral with the side walls. 'lhiscasting. like the castings for all of the other sections. has an oblong rectangular l'iorizontal cross section. The sides which form the long and short sides of the oblong will. for convenience. be distinguishcd by reference numerals 61 and 69. re-

spectively. Along the outside of the side walls 1 are formed two vertically extending ribs 63. One of the said ribs is broadened near its top to form a circular boss and the rib on the opposite wall is broadened near its bottom to form a similar circular boss. These bossed ribs are similar to the bossed rib 102% shown in Fig. 4 on the internal condensing section 13. These bosses may be bored for the reception of inlet or outlet pipes, of temperature or pressure indieating or regulatingdevices; or of sampling cocks. For the sake of illustration. both of the bosses are shown bored through in Fig. 6. lt is obvious. however. that with the sec tions assen'ibled. as shown in Fig. 1. these bosses will not be, bored for inlet or outlet pipes but will be left blank or bored for the insertion of temperature'or pressure indicators or of sampling devices. number of bosses 65 and 6 are cast on the deck 60. The bosses 65 are bored to receive the riser pipes 67 which support the vapor hoods (3S, and

the bosses 66 are bored to receive the constant levcl overflow pipes 69. As illustrated, the bosses are screwthreaded so that the riser pipes 67 may be screwed directly into them. while the holes in the bosses 66 are bored plain and the constant level overflow pipes 69 are secured therein by clamping collars TU. As will hereafter appear, it is necessary that the tops of these bosses be accurately planed off for the proper leveling of the vapor hoods and the overflow pipes.

The upper and lower edges of the side walls of this section are formed with continuous outwardly extending fianges73 and H resp a-tively. The upper flange 73 forms an outward continuation of the deck 60, al-

though the greater part of the deck 60 is somewhat depressed below the upper surface of the flange. Upon the extreme outer edges of the flange. 73 on the two sides above the short side walls 62, are formed upwardly projecting gasket retaining nibs 75. Upon the extreme outer edges of the flange 74 on the two sides below the long side Walls 61,

are formed similar but downwardly projecting gasket retaining nibs 76.

The manner in which the rough castings are machined to plane off the bosses 65 and 66 and the upper and lower surfaces of the flanges 73 and 74 respectively, will now be described. To machine the lower face of the section, the section casting is inverted and placed in a planer or millingmachine and the lower face machined across in the direction parallel to the longer side walls 61. The

entire face of the flange 7-f is thus planed ofiv except the nibs 76 which are left projecting downwardly at the outer edge of the flange. -l5 v forming the nibs 76 upon opposite sides of the casting, the entire bottom face of the casting between these nibs may be leveled straight across by machine planing or milling in one direction. Such machine Work is both cheaper and more accurate than hand work. To finish the upper face of the casting, it is placed in a planer or milling machine and machined across in a direction parallel to the shorter side walls 62 in a manner exactly similar to the planing or milling of the bottom surface. By this machining operation. the upper face of the flange 73 is accurately planed off and the tops of the bosses 65 and (36 which project up from the deck 60 are also planed to the exact level of the top of the flange 73. The greater part of-the deck 60 as before mentioned, is somewhat depressed below the top of the flange 73 and the bosses 65 and 66. This is for economy in the planing operation, since it is not necessary to plane the entire deck but only the top surface of the flange and the bosses. The machining of the upper surface. in the direction of the short side walls 62 leaves the upwardly extending'gasket retaining .nibs 75 projecting upwardly beyond the top of the flange 73 along the short side of the section. The nibs 75 are upon different sides than the nibs 76 so that when two sections are assembled the gasket which is placed between the planed surfaces of the flanges onadjacent sections are held in place by the-upwardly extending nibs T? on the short sides of the sections and the downwardly' extending nibs 76 on the long sides of the "sections. Since the pressure within the distilling tower is frequently above that of the atmosphere. these gasket retaining column or tower. lVIoreover, if-the sections be of a square cross section, the presence of the. nibs will prevent any accidental placing of one section on top of the other at right angles from what its position should be. By constructing the sections as above described, each section is prepared for fitting with the sections immediately above and below it by only two machining operations, these 'machining operations consisting of planing or milling the upper and lower faces of the sections across in directions at right angles to each other. As shown in Fig. 1, all of the sections are provided with the outwardly extending flanges the same as the flanges Hand 74 of the vapor hood sections. All of these sections are prepared for assembling in the tower by having the upper and lower faces machined in the same manner as the above described vapor hood section. The heating sections 11 and 16 and the internal condenser sections 13 and 20 have no top decks so that the machining ,operation across their upper faces is that of planing off the uppersurfaces of the flanges only. The above described method of fitting the sections together is common to all of the sections. only the top of the pedestal 10 and the bottom of the dome section 22 are planed, while both the top and the bottom of each of the intermediate sections are planed.

WVhile the rectangular shape of the sections is best adapted for the above described operations of planing straight across the upper and lower surfaces in directions respectively parallel to-two adjacent sides of the rectangle of cross section, it is obvious that sections of different shaped horizontal cross section can be planed in a similar manner. A section having any parallelogrammic horizontal cross section can be planed straight across the Y top in directions respectively parallel to two It is obvious that .40 p L I have" the ends of tlieir bifurcated extremibythe formlof t of the invention.

bolts which clamp this section to theijj sem adjacentsides ofthe parallelogram of cross sectiomf andia plurality of nibs be leftupon two opposite" sides of both its upper and lower,v planed surfaces. .,Sections. having a circular and elliptical horizontal cross section can be planed straight acrossthe top and bottomin directions atiright angles to each other, in which case buti .,a single nib area.

ser ations 1 of parallelo grammic and more particularlyyof rectan-Q cross section is therefore; most advantageous, as it gives a greater; number of gasketretaining and alining' nibs,

gular horizontal but the employment-in; a column of units of other cross section having their upper and lower iac'es'planed in the manner above indicated, is ithin the purview or section On the sideso'f ea mg lugs, indicated 12 are cast bolt" retain by reference numerals 8Q and' Bl, thetwosets of lugs 80 and 81 acting tofreceive the tions immediately above and r-E e gs 80 are bifurcated and ties provided "with downardly extending nibs 82 to retain the bolti-heads or nuts from slippingdrom 'the-; ends of the lugs. The. bifurcatedlugs 81: are-provided with similar :upwardly extending 83.1 The manner; n which the sectionsy-aregi'clamped together by bolts is clearly illustrated in 1, The usepf vtlle bflltj holding lugs 80 and 81"fpossesse s "distinctive advantage over the llSllllljlTlGthOd of assembling SIIIlilar members by bolts passed throughholes bored through outwardlyextending flanges. Theipresence of such holes in the flanges weakens the flanges and also necessitates similar holes being made through the packing gaskets," whereas in the present construction' the surfaces of .the flanges 73 and 74 are continuousand an unbroken packingxgasket maybe placed between them. As shown in Fig. 1., all of the sections except the loose deck sections 14 and 21 are provided with bolt holding lugs the same as the above described lugs on the vapor hood sections. "While in the preferred emmanta planed; upper and {lower surling to surfaces respectively! "ibodiment illustrated, each individual section which has sidewalls is provided with bolt receiving lugs, it is not necessary to lace "lugs on each and every "section. In"

some ,columns, particularly in short columns, the columns may-be held together by vertical tie rods extendin the length of the column and secured to o y thetopand bottom sections, or the column may be held assembled by means of a number ofsets of "j tighter than a joint which is exposed to vapor, and 11108.58 a leak occurs its presence ,will be immediately detected by the resenceof liduid oozing to the outside 0 the tower. A1 of the connecting joints between the sections are made to have a similar liquid seal wherever practicable in constructing {the tower. .1 f I I v The liquid levelin the 'chambers containing the vapor Eliobds .isrd two overflowipipes 69 heseoverfiow p pes 69 rise far enough-a v ve the{top of the deck 60 so that theliquigi w ll; submerge the lower part of the va' formed by the] heating sections pipes 67 and ou the-hoods 68 1a liquid. The; low 69 extend nearl thebottdfibf-the chamber immediatel neath them, so that {the liquid in this hamber acts to seal 'thewlower ends of the overflow pipes 69 and to1prevent any vapor-passing1 up throughfithem. As'shown 1, t e overflow ipe 85 which drains the owest vapor is longer than the restandwis entended to etermined by the' eneath it, .a liquid retaining chamber,

'68. The vapor nearly the bottom of the steam injector heata the riser pipes are screwed Openings 87 are provided at the top of the riser pipe 67 some discharge of vapor within the upper part "of the hood 68. bolt 88 passing through the top of I f three inwardly and downwardlyextending 103 wings 90. These Wings 90 fit over the riser pipe 67 and act to space the hood equally from iton all sides. The lower ends *of the wings 90 rest on theplancd'top of the boss 65. When the bolt 6 is tightened, it forces down the cap 8 andpreste's the lower ends of the wings 00 agai hs't thtz planed top of the boss (35. The'ends tot the Wings 90 are accuratelv leveled, in a plane. parallel to the plane through the lower edge of the hood 68, and since they lit against the planned upper surface of the boss the cap 68 is accurately le\eled so that the vapor is {discharged equally from all sides of the lower edge thercot'.v The importance ot'.the accurate planing which it is possible to perl'orin by machinework is obvious, particularly in view of the fact that the vapor is discharged through a number of vapor hoods (58 and the liquid overflows through a number of overflow pipes 69. i For the proper operation of these vapor hood sections, the vapor should be discharged equally through each of the YHPOIZlIOOdS (i8 and equal amounts of liquid should-overflow through'each of the overflow pipes 69.

'l he distances which the lower ends fi th e wings J0 of the several vapor hoods extend *below the lower edges of the hoods (38 are all.

equal. and the distances between the open 49 tons of the several overflow pipes (39 and the shoulders 92 are all equal. and therefore since all of the bosses and 6b are accurately planed in the same operation, all of the vapor hoods and all of the ovcrllow pipes will have their respective openings at exactly the same respective distances above the surface of the horizontal deck 60 so that equal amounts of vapor or of liquid will pass through each individual hood ($8 or pipe (39. By comparing Figs. 1 and 5, it will be seen that the liquid from the section above is discharged by the two overflow pipes 69 at one side of the vapor hood deck, and flows across the deck around the vapor hoods (38 and out through the'two overflow pipes (39 on the opposite side of the chamber. As shown in big. 5, the vapor hoods (38 are arranged in staggered formation so that the liquid is divided and flows equally around each hood. The rectangular shape of the chambers permits the arrangen'lcnt of the.

vapor hoods and overflow pipes to cause/a much more even flow across the chamber than'would be possible w1th a chamber of circular cross section. \Vlnle as shown in the drawings, there are seven vapor hoods and two overflow pipes mounted on each deck, it islobviobs that if sections larger or smallerin cross sections are desired, the same relative arrangement can be'had with ya different number of hoods and overflow pipes. The even distribution of the flow of the liquid aroi nd the 'apor hood-s assures an even heating ainlconsequent re-evaporation throughout the liquidcaused by the hot vables ;up through the liquid. g

por which issues froni the hoods and bub- It is found that i distilling columns built up uniformly of vapor hood sections, the 1115-1 per sections which tion of the distillate act to i roduce lesser degrees oi.concentration;tha the lower sections, so that many morerhambersare required to effect the final concentration at. the

top than to do the bulk of the work at the eifect the final concentra- \Vith the object. 7

therefore, of increasing the effectiveness of the upperchambers in concentrating the distillate, and of supplying suflicient liquid to keep the vapor hoods submerged. two internal condensing sections 13 are placed above the vapor hood sections 1:2. On each ofthe internal condensing sections 13 is mounted a loose deck 14: which carries;vapor hoods which act like the vapor hoods on the sections 1:2 to cause the rising vapor to bubble through the liquid held on the deck. These condensing sections increase the degree of concentration effected by the rectifying or distilling operations carried on in thechamhers immediately.below "the condensing coils by reducing the temperature of the vapor and returning as liquid to the chambers below the volatile constituents condensed by the condensing coils. The amount of condensation to which the vapor is subjected in these reflux condensing sections can be accurately regulated by the amount and temperature of the cooling medium supplied to the condenser pipes. y

The internal condensing sections 13 are illustrated in detaikin Figs. 2, 3 and 4.

The internal condensing sections are formed of hollow castings having two horizontal staggered decks 100 and 101 extending nearly. across theinterior of the casting chamber about one-third of the Way from the top and the bottom respectively. The longer opposite side walls 102 of the casting are continuous, and have on their outer faces vertically extending ribs 103 which are expanded into circular bosses 10d and 105- These bosses, like the bosses on the vapor hood sections, may be bored, as shown in Fig. 3, for the reception of inlet or outlet pipes, or temperature or sampling devices. As shown in Fig. 3, the hole through the boss 10% is above the liquid level on the top of the deck of the upper vapor hood" section, and the hole through the boss 105 is below the liquid-level. As illustrated in Fig. 1, the liquid carrying pipe 6 enters through one of the bosses 105 to discharge liquid into this-- chamber. The shorter side Walls 106 of the casting which forms this section have openings therein between the decks 100 and 101. The edges of these openings are machined and the openings are closed in the completed section by plates 107 which carry the condenser tubes 108. Suitable packing material 109 is placed between the casting and the plates 107 to make a tight joint. The tubes 108 are arranged in three horizontal rows of seven tubes each. The ends of the tubes extend through the plates 107 and are packed vapor tight by suitable packing material 110 compressed by glands 111. The bores of the glands 111 are somewhat restricted near their outer ends to form internal annular shoulders 112 which fit against the ends of the condenser tubes and prevent them from shifting their position longitudinally. The

open ends of the tubes 108 are covered by manifold plates 115. The manifold plates 115.'are' clamped to the section casting by means of clamping, bolts 116 and a tight joint is secured between the plates 107 and 115 by suitable packing 117. The plates 107 and 115 resist all of-the pressure lon- 1 gitudinally of the condenser pipes, and as these plates are bolted to the casting the condenser pipes 108 are subjected to no longitudinal strain but merelyv to radial pressures. The condenser water or other cooling medium is led in through an inlet 120 in one manifold plate and discharged through an outlet 121 in the opposite manifold plate.

The inner faces of the manifold plates 115 The arrangement of these recesses is indicated by y g i are provided with recesses 122.

dotted lines in Figs. 2 and 3, and is such that the water which enters theinlet v120 is divided into three streams and flows across the three horizontal rows of condenser tubes in equal amounts: The water thus flows through the three rows in multiple but goes through the individual pipes of each row in series. Since the inlet 120 and outlet 121 are at the lower and upper parts of the opposite plates 115 respectively, and the three horizontal rows are connected in multiple, any air will be forced through the upper row of tubes and no air lock can be formed in the condenser pipes. The flow of water, as shown in Fig. 3, is from right to left, while the flow of the vapor is around the open end of the deck 101 and acrossthrough the The lower side of the upper deck 100 is provided with ribs 123 extending in the same direction as the condenser pipes to counteract the tendency which the vapor has to creep along the lowersurface of this deck, and,

by interrupting its flow, direct the vapor downwardly against the condenser pipes.

The chamber formed in the open lower third of the internal condensing section be neath the deck 101 is for the reception of the vapor hoods 68 which are mounted on the deck of the vapor hood section 12 immediately beneath the first internal condensing section 13. i The similar chamber in the sec ond internal condensing section is occupied by the vapor hoods on the-loose deck section 14 placed between the two internal condensing sections.

An upwardly extending flange 120 is cast on the top of the horizontal deck 100 and forms a trough for retaining liquid to make a liquid seal over the lower end of the overflow pipe 121 which extends down from the loose deck section 14, as illustrated in Fig. 1.

Each internal condensing section has outwardly extending upper. and lower flanges 125 and 126, upwardly and downwardly extending gasket retaining nibs 127 and 128, and upper and lower bifurcated bolt holding lugs 129 and 130. These are formed and machined in exactly the same manner as the flanges, nibs and lugs on the vapor hood sections.

The rectangular cross section of the casting is the most advantageous for forming secured to the sides of the casting andbe- 1 cause the straight condenser tubes can be arranged in the most compact formation within the rectangular chamber of the casting,

, y Loose deck section.

On top of each internal condensing section is placed a loose deck section 14 which is illustrated in detail in Fig. 7. This loose deck sectionis provided with overflow pipes 121 and vapor hoods 135 exactly similar to the deck 60 of the vapor hood sections. The main part of the loose deck section 14 is of about the same thickness as the deck 60, and like the deck 60has bosseswhich are bored for holding the'vapor hoods and outlet pipes. The outer edge of the loose deck section 14 is of about the same thickness, as

' is" discharge 60 umn 2. This section q's'habove the doc milled in exactly the same manneras the upperand lower surfaces of the vapor hood sections, so that upwardly and downwardly.

extending gasket retaining nibs 137 and 138 are left like the nibs 75 hood sections. As shown inFig. 1, loose -deck sections are placed on the top of the:

chamber above the deck 160 overflow opening into the pipe 6 so that internal condensing sections and are clamped in place by the bolts which are held by the bolt retaining lugs on the section's'immediately above and below the loose decks. Suitable packing materialis of courseplaced between the planed ofi'edges 130and the flanges of the adjacent sections, forming a tightly packed, joint. Whilein the condenszo ing tower illustrated all of the loose deck sections are shown bored through for .re-'

ception of vapor hoods and overflow pi es, loose decks of exactly the same sort, ut which are .not bored may be employed for forming tight partitions in the column, or for other purposes.

a 1 62 1 01section, I I Above 'the internal condensing e tion 1 so is placed a vapor outlet section 15. This continuous side vapor outlet section has 140 east integral.

wallsand a tight deck with the sidewalls. In the chamber within this section are the va- 4 I por hoods 135 of the next lower section.

Above the vapor hoods, a vapor space .is

left in which the vapor is collected and is discharged through the. vapor outlet pipe 7 through a boss formed in the which enters 40 side wall of the section. The boss through which theoutlet pipe 7 enters is formed by anenlargeme it'iof. anexternal bossed rib similanito the-jbossed rib 103 as shown in ',Fig. 4. IThiseection forms the top of vapor section of the lower part of the column 1. I

The'va'por hood sections 17 and 19"and the internal condensingsections20 and the loose decks 21. of the upper part 2 of the column are exactly similar to the correwhich circulates through the lower chem sponding sections in the lower part1 of the column. I The tubular steam heating section 16, the reducing section 18 and the vdome section, 21 are different and will be now de- 7 having a tight deck 160 acrom its interior about one-fourth of-the distance from the bottom, and two reinforcing ribs or bars v .161 extendin across the chamber formed Y masses and 76 on the vapor the lower part 'of' compact manner in the section.

160. i kll of the side walls of the casting below the deck one, so that when the section is assembled,

'The ribs orbars- 161 the east' gether-with the deck 160, reinforce the casti I ing to resist the outward pressure ofthe steam. The height of the liquid in the is fixed by the the heating tubes 172 are always submerged.

The vapor driven off by the heat 11888" through the vapor hoods of the vapor hood section 17 immediately above the undergo rectifying process in the upper part of the column. Long overflow pipes 188 extendin nearly to the deck 160 form'liquid seale dram pipes for the vapor hood section im' mediately above the heating-section.

' The heating section has outwardly extending planed flanges, gasket retaining nibs and bolt holding lugs-formed in exactly the same manner as described under the vapor hood section.

The rectangular sha of the castingrenders it particularlya aptable for forming the tubular steam heating section, because flat manifold plates can be bolted to the flat sides of the casting and because straight heating pipes can bepacked in the most While, ordinarily, atubular'steam heating section and a steam injector section would not be used in the same compound column because in distilling a given mixture one of said heating sections is more eflicient than the other, yet for the sake of 160 are continu .as shown in 1, a heat insulating space illustrating both types of heating sections,

the two types are incorporated intov the same compound column and are shown as operating successively on the same mixture to. be distilled. g

' Reducing section. In many distilling columns the volume'of vapor orliquid which circulates through the In many distilling columns the volume of ducing section is .employed, as indicated by reference numeral 18 in Fig. 1. This reduclng sectlon is shown as a vapor hood section and differs from the other vapor hood sec- =tions only in that the side walls slope inlower face fits on a 139 wardly so lthat while its Ina column built up of,

Dome section.

The column is surmounted by a dome section 22. The lower part of the dome section has outwardly extending flanges, gas

ket retaining nibs and bolt holding lugs like all the other sections and is bolted on to the top of the upper internal condensing section 20, a loose deck section 21 being placed between the dome section and the condensing section. The dome section forms a closed chamber into which the vapor hoods of the loose deck section project and in the upper part of which the vapor is collected and discharged through the outlet pipe 4 which is screwed into a central boss 195 on the top of the dome.

While the various sections have been described as being formed of castings, the present invention is not limited in its scope to cast units, as it is evident that a column formed of units made of other materials, such as sheet metal, earthenware, etc., may be constructed embodying many of the features of the present invention. Neither is the present invention limitedtosections having a rectangular cross section, since sec-- tions of various other cross sections might be employed within the spirit of the invention.

While the plane surfaces formed on the upper and lower faces of the units Or sections have been described as being formed by a planing or milling operation, it is with in the purview of the present invention to employ units or sections having upper and lower plane surfaces formed in any manner;

for example, the upper and lower plane S111".

faces may be cast approximately smooth and a gasket of comparatively thick packing material be employed to take up the inequalities or roughness on the comparatively smooth but unplaned matching upper and lower faces. While sections constructed as hereinbefore described constitute the preferred form or embodiment of the present invention, it is to be understood that the in vention is not limited to these exact details of form or construction, but may be otherwise embodied within the spirit of the invention and the scope of the following claims:

I claim:

1. A unit or section for a column or tower of the character described having its upper face planed straight across to leave an upwardly projecting nib on either side of the planed area and having its lower face planed straight across at an angle to the direction of the line of planing of the upper face to leave a downwardly pr0jecting nib on either side of the planed area, whereby when a similarly formed section is placed on the top thereof the two sections are prevented from sliding on one another in any direction.

.2. A unit or section for a column or tower of the character described having its upper face planed straight across to leave an upwardly projecting nib on either side of the planed area and having its lower face planed straight across in a direction at right angles to the direction of the plane of the upper face to leave a downwardly projecting nib at either side of the planed area, whereby when a similarly formed section is placed on the top thereof the two sections are prevented from sliding on one another in any direction.

3. A column or unit of the character described having, in combination, a plurality of chambered units of parallelogrammic horizontal cross section placed one above the other to form a series of communicating chambers, each unit having upwardly projecting nibs at the outer edges of two of its opposite sides and having its upper face between said nibs planed straight across in a direction parallel to the sides upon which the nibs are located to form a smooth packing surface, and having downwardly pro ecting nibs at the outer edges of two of the opposite sides of its lower face and having its lower face between said nibs planed straight across in a direction parallel to the sides upon which the nibs are located to form a smooth packing surface, the sides upon which the downwardly projecting nibs are located being sides adjacent in the parallelogram ofcross section to the sides upon which the upwardly projecting nibs arelocated, packing material placed between the units, said nibs acting both to aline the sections and to retain the packing in place, and bolt holding lugs formed on the units projecting outwardly beyond the outer edges of the flanges for receiving bolts for bolt ing together adjacent units of the column.

4. A unit or section of parallelogrammic cross section for a column or tower of the character described having its upper and lower faces planed straight across in directions parallel respectively to two of the adjacent sides of the parallelogram of cross section to leave upwardly and downwardly projecting nibs on each of the two opposite sides of the upper and lower faces respec tively which lie at the sides of the planed area.

5. A column or tower of the character described having, in combination, a pluralitv of chambered units or sections placed one above the other to form a series of communicating chambers, each unit having an upwardly projecting nib on each of two opposite sides of 1ts upper face and having its upper face between said nibs planed straight across to form asmooth packing surface, and having a downwardly pro]ecting nib on each of two opposite sides of the lower face and having its lower face between said nibs planed straight across to form a smooth packing surface, packing material placed between the several units and retained in place by the nibs. and means for holding the units assembled in the column.

6. A column or tower of the character described, having, in combination, a plurality of chambered units of parallelogrammic horizontal cross section placed one above the other to form a series of communicating chambers, each unit having upwardly projecting nibs on each of two opposite sides of its upper face and having its upper face between said ni'bs planed straight across in a direction parallel to the sides upon which the upwardly projecting nibs are 10- cated, to form a smooth packing surface, and having a downwardly projecting nib on each of two opposite sides of its lower face and having its lower face between said nibs planed straight across in a direction paral- 101 to the sides upon which the downwardly projecting nibs are "located, to forma smooth packing surface, the sides upon which the downwardly projecting nibs are located being sides adjacent in the parallelogram of cross section to the sides upon which the upwardly projecting nibs are located, packing material placedbetween the units and retained in place by the nibs, and means for holding the units assembled in the column.

7. A unit or section for a column for distilling liquids having side walls and a depressed top deck formed integral with the side walls, said depressed deck being provided with a series of bosses for the mounting of vapor hoods, the bosses and side walls being planed straight across.

WALTER E. LUMMUS.

\Vitnesses (Has BOARDMAN, GEORGE E. STEBBINS.

Corrections in-Letters Patent No. 1,226,898.

It is hereby certified that in Letters Patent No. 1,226,898, gnnted May 22, 1917,

upon the application of Walter E. Lummus, of Lynn, Massachusetts, [or an Columns for Distillation and the Like, errors appear in the improvement in im d ficificntiun requiring correction as fullowsfPage 8, iine 82, fur the word "the" road to; same page, strike out line 115 and insert the Wm'ds upper chambers is Irss than the Mimi: and that the said Letters Pment should be read with these i i i vnrreutiuns therein that UK same may conform to the record of the case in the Patent Office.

Signed and sealed this 26th day of June. A. D., 1917.

R. F. 'IIITEHEAD,

Acting Oommiuioner oj Patenu.

[SEAL] Ci. l9513. 

